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Alakazam the Great
| narrator = Sterling Holloway | starring = Kiyoshi Komiyama Noriko Shindō Hideo Kinoshita Setsuo Shinoda Peter Fernandez Frankie Avalon | music = Ryoichi Hattori (Japanese Version) Les Baxter (American Version) | cinematography = Harusato Otsuka Komei Ishikawa Kenji Sugiyama | editing = Shintaro Miyamoto Kanjiro Igusa Salvatore Billitteri Laurette Odney | studio = Toei Animation | distributor = Toei Company | released = | runtime = 88 minutes | country = Japan | language = Japanese | budget = | gross = | preceded by = | followed by = }} is a 1960 Japanese musical anime film, based on the Chinese novel ''Journey to the West, and was one of the earliest anime films to be released in the United States. Osamu Tezuka was named as a director of the film by Toei Company. However, Tezuka later stated that the only time he was in the studio was to pose for publicity photos. His involvement in promoting the film, however, led to his interest in animation. Plot Alakazam is a young and brave monkey (a macaque) who has been encouraged by all the other monkeys to become their king. After attaining the throne, he becomes rude and dictatorial, and does not believe that human beings are greater than he is. Then he deceives/forces Merlin the magician to teach him magic (reluctantly on Merlin's part, who warns Alakazam that the powers he acquires now will bring him much unhappiness later). Alakazam becomes so arrogant that he abuses his magic powers, and chooses to go up to Majutsu Land (the Heavens), to challenge King Amo. He is defeated by King Amo. For his punishment, he is sentenced to serve as the bodyguard of Prince Amat on a pilgrimage; in order to learn humility. Ultimately, he learns his lesson and becomes a true hero. Characters U.S. release The film was released in the United States by American International on July 26, 1961. For the American release, a few scenes were heavily edited and rearranged and bandleader Les Baxter was hired to compose a new soundtrack. Teen idol Frankie Avalon supplied the singing voice of Alakazam (the speaking voice was done by Peter Fernandez), and Sterling Holloway provided English-language narration. Other famous voices included Jonathan Winters, Arnold Stang, Dodie Stevens, & E.G. Marshall. Reception Despite a large marketing budget and heavy promotion, the film was unsuccessful in America. The Los Angeles Times called it "warm, amusing and exciting... the art work is really excellent." It was included as one of the choices in The Fifty Worst Films of All Time, and is the only animated film featured in the book.http://www.listchallenges.com/the-fifty-worst-films-of-all-time Home media release The AIP version of the film was first released on VHS in the 1980s by HBO/Cannon Video (under licensed from then-owner Orion Pictures). Orion Home Video re-released the film in both pan-and-scan and widescreen letterbox VHS editions and on a widescreen laserdisc in 1995. Although MGM hasn't released the film on DVD, the AIP version has been made available for streaming on Netflix and Amazon Video. See also * Journey to the West * List of animated feature films * List of Osamu Tezuka anime * List of Osamu Tezuka manga * Osamu Tezuka * Osamu Tezuka's Star System References External links * Category:1960 films Category:1960 anime films Category:1960s adventure films Category:1960s fantasy films Category:1960s musical films Category:Adventure anime and manga Category:American International Pictures films Category:Animated musical films Category:Fantasy anime and manga Category:Films based on Journey to the West Category:Films based on works by Osamu Tezuka Category:Films featuring anthropomorphic characters Category:Japanese animated fantasy films Category:Japanese fantasy adventure films Category:Chinese mythology in anime and manga Category:Buddhist animation Category:Toei Animation films